Daily GK Updates – 9th Feb, 2021

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. 4 more states complete ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Reforms: As per the recent data by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), four more states have completed the reforms in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’, as stipulated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. The four states are- Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. These states have become eligible to mobilise additional financial resources to the tune of Rs 5,034 crore through open market borrowings. Now the total number of state that has undertaken the reforms to promote Ease of Doing Business till now has gone up to 12. The other states are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

Reforms of ‘Ease of Doing Business’: Altogether, these twelve states have been granted additional borrowing permission of Rs 28,183 crore. In May 2020, the central government had announced to link grant of additional borrowing permissions to states who undertake the reforms in four citizen-centric sectors to facilitate ease of doing business. The four citizen-centric areas for reforms identified were -implementation of one nation one ration card system, ease of doing business reform, urban local body/ utility reforms and power sector reforms.

 

2. PM Modi launches Asom Mala in Assam’s Sonitpur district: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the ‘Asom Mala’ programme in Dhekiajuli of Sonitpur district, Assam. As per the PMO, this initiative will boost the state’s road infrastructure and contribute to Assam’s economic progress and improve connectivity. The programme is unique for its emphasis on effective maintenance through continuous field data collection and its linkage with the Road Asset Management System.

PM Modi also laid the foundation stones of medical colleges and hospitals in Biswanath and Charaideo with an aim to boost Assam’s health infrastructure. The two medical colleges and hospitals are being set up at Biswanath and Charaideo at a total estimated project cost of over Rs 1,100 crores. Each hospital will have a 500-bed capacity and 100 MBBS seat capacity.

Note: Assam CM: Sarbananda Sonowal; Assam Governor: Jagdish Mukhi.

 

3. Uttarakhand Chamoli glacier burst: The glacier burst took place at the Rishiganga power project after a portion of Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Tapovan area of Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on 7th February morning and damaged the Rishiganga dam on Alaknanda river. National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) Tapovan Vishnugad project on Dhauliganga river and Rishi Ganga Power Corporation Ltd’s project, with a planned capacity of 520 MW and 13.2 MW, respectively, have been nearly washed away. Many villages were evacuated as floods swept away five bridges, damaged homes and the nearby NTPC power plant, and washed away a small hydropower project near Rishiganga. National and state disaster response teams have been deployed, as have teams from the ITBP. The Army has sent six columns and the Navy seven diving teams.

Note: Uttarakhand Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat; Governor of Uttarakhand: Baby Rani Maurya.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. South Korea to Build World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm: President Moon Jae-in-led, South Korea Government has approved a plan to build the world’s largest wind power plant in the country by 2030. Currently, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is Hornsea 1 in Britain, which has 1.12 GW capacity.

About the project: The project will help to foster an environmentally-friendly recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and fasten the step to achieve the target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The estimated cost of the project is 48.5 trillion won ($43.2 billion). The Windpower Plant will be located in the southwestern coastal town of Sinan. It will have a maximum capacity of 8.2 gigawatts.

Note: South Korea Capital: Seoul; South Korea Currency: South Korean won.

 

2. Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala set to become first female Chief of WTO: Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been chosen as the next Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She would be the first woman as well as the first African nation to lead the organization. Okonjo-Iweala, the former finance minister of Nigeria, will succeed Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down in August 2020.

Note: World Trade Organization Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; World Trade Organization Founded: 1 January 1995.

 

3. Michael Bloomberg Re-Appointed as United Nations Climate Envoy: The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres re-appointed Michael Bloomberg as his Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions. Bloomberg is the founder and owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. He was previously appointed as the U.N. special envoy for climate action between March 2018 and November 2019.

Bloomberg will work to strengthen the group of governments, companies, cities and financial institutions that are working to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. He would also work to mobilise stronger and more ambitious climate action in the lead-up to 2021 United Nations Climate Change conference in Scotland in November 2021.

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. Joe Root becomes first batsman to score 200 in 100th Test: Joe Root, the England captain, sent India on a leather hunt, becoming the first player in history to score a double century in his 100th Test match. In the process, Root also surpassed former Pakistan captain Inzamam-Ul-Haq as the player with the highest individual score playing the 100th Test match of his career. Inzamam had hit 184 against India in a Test match in Bengaluru in 2005, which Pakistan had won by 168 runs.

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. RBI Monetary Policy: Policy Rate unchanged: The six-member Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), headed by Governor Shaktikanta Das, has decided to maintain the status quo on policy rate amid sticky rate of inflation. At this point, the repo rate or the rate at which RBI lends to banks stands unchanged at 4 per cent. The reverse repo rate also stayed unchanged at 3.35 per cent. The MPC committee members voted unanimously in favour of the decision. The key decisions taken in the Monetary Policy Committee meeting are:

(1) The repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) has been kept unchanged at 4.00%.

(2) The reverse repo rate under the LAF has been kept unchanged at 3.35%.

(3) The marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate have been kept unchanged at 4.25%.

RBI Monetary Policy Highlights & Key Decisions:

(1) Governor Shaktikanta Das proposes to put in place criteria for NBFC dividend distribution, introduces risk-based audit in large NBFCs & co-op banks.

(2) RTGS will soon be made 24X7 in the next few days.

(3) The business sentiment of manufacturing firms is gradually improving.

(4) CPI inflation is seen at 6.8% for Q3 and 5.8% for Q4.

(5) Real GDP growth for FY21 is projected at -7.5%. Q3 FY-21 GDP is seen at +0.1% while Q4 FY-21 GDP is seen at +0.7%.

(6) Corporate bond spreads have narrowed to pre-covid levels.

(7) RBI proposes to enhance limits for contactless card payments from ₹2000 to ₹5000 from Jan 2021.

(8) On-tap Targeted Long Term Repo Operations (TLTRO) will be expanded to cover other stressed sectors in tandem with Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) scheme.

Note: RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. Google Cloud appoints Bikram Singh Bedi as MD for India: Google Cloud has appointed Bikram Singh Bedi as the new Managing Director for its India Business. He will succeed Karan Bajwa, who has been elevated as Vice president for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region cloud operations at Google Cloud. At Google, Bikram Bedi will be responsible for leading Google Cloud’s sales and operations teams in this dynamic market. Google Cloud is also on track to launch its Delhi cloud region in India this year – its second after Mumbai that was launched in 2017.

About the Bikram Singh Bedi: Bedi, a senior leader with more than 26 years of leadership experience, will be responsible for leading Google Cloud’s sales and operations teams in this dynamic market. He joined Google Cloud from Indian online grocery delivery startup, Grofers where he served as President Strategy and New Initiatives. Prior to that, he set up the AWS business in India and was the head of India and South Asia for six years. He also held various leadership positions at IBM and Oracle.

Note: CEO of Google: Sundar Pichai; Headquarters: California, United States.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. 16th India-US joint military exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas 20’ commenced: The India-US joint military exercise “Yudh Abhyas 20” commenced in Mahajan Field Firing Range of Bikaner district in Rajasthan. This is the 16th edition of an annual bilateral joint exercise of both the armies. It will continue till the 21st of this month. The previous version of the joint exercise was held at Seattle in the United States. This exercise is another step in the growing military cooperation between the two countries, which shows the growth in Indo-US relations. It is also a sign that both India and the US understand the threat of terrorism and are standing shoulder to shoulder in combating the same.

About the exercise: About 250 US and 250 Indian army soldiers are participating in the exercise. Both the armies will share their war-related techniques, skills and experience with each other during this exercise. The exercise is one of the largest military training and defence cooperation efforts between India and the United States.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Indian tennis great Akhtar Ali passes away: Tennis legend Akhtar Ali, a father figure in Indian tennis, passed away. He represented India in eight Davis Cup ties against Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, Mexico, Japan and Monaco between 1958 and 1964. Born on July 5, 1939, Akhtar made his mark in 1955 when he became the National junior champion and reached the junior Wimbledon semifinals. He played alongside stalwarts like Ramanathan Krishnan, Naresh Kumar, Premjit Lall and Jaidip Mukerjea. Akhtar, who was groomed by former Australian Davis Cup coach Harry Hopman, also played in the Wimbledon and French Open grand slam events. He was the winner of the Asian mixed doubles championship. His last ATP tour outing was against Vijay Amritraj in a clay court match in Bombay on November 11, 1974.